Sunday, February 17, 2013

The ones with the ridiculously cheesy covers

I'm no artist. I can't draw, can't pait, can't do anything with Photoshop, can't do simple art designs. This list of "can'ts" in line with art is just too embarrassing. When God showered Earth with all those artisic genes, I must've been using an umbrella on that day.

There's one thing that I do know though, and that's telling when a particular book cover is bad. Remember when the US Supreme Court had trouble defining pornography? They had to resort to this I'll-know-it-when-I-see-it line of reasoning. It's the same with book covers in my case.

I'm sure you get my feelings. And it's particularly disheartening when good books have these awful covers. Take the case of Lois McMaster Bujold's wonderful Vorkisigan novels. It's still an ongoing series, but the current crop of novels in this series have received very positive responses from both readers and critics. A lot of these novels have been shortlisted for either the Hugo or the Nebula, sometimes even both.



If you're looking for an exciting sci-fi read, I highly recommend the Vorkosigan novels. Miles Vorkosigan reminds me a lot of Tyrion Lannister, with his deformed frame and his shrewd but brilliant mind. I'm warning you though: these books are not eye candy on one's shelf.

I have a long list of gripe regarding the covers for this series. The artwork is so uninspired that it doesn't leave anything to the imagination. Let's put spaceships! And people shooting laser guns! We have weddings, so let's go for 2 people slow dancing! And don't forget the imperial guards standing at attention! Argh! I die of cheese.

Nevertheless, I will persevere and try to get my hands on the rest of the novels in the series. Good stories vs. covers that can cause epileptic fits? Really, it's no contest.

6 comments:

Phioxee said...

interesting. honestly, i didn't know about good books. im reading game of thrones because i was hook with hbo's series. wanted to know more so im reading it now.

Peter S. said...

Hi, Phioxee! That's a good series as well! Fortunately, it has good covers too! Hehehehe.

LON said...

OMJ, YES, THOSE COVERS ARE REALLY CHEEZY! LOL!

Peter S. said...

Understatement of the year!

Anonymous said...

the last cover reminded me of most romance paperbacks. :) i actually had to do a double-take and see if it was that :)

Peter S. said...

Hahahahaha. Well, to be fair, the romantic angle in that sci-fi novel is a major element!